The United States Of The Tao
Tao, officially "The United States of the Tao", and sometimes referred to as the UST; is an independent state in South East Ophion. The Tao is made up of two main landmasses, one connected by land to the rest of Ophion (bordering Divergia), and Aoba island, along with a multitude of islands. The Tao has had several colonial overlords in its long and ancient history. As a feudal kingdom in the 16th century, the Izumdo of the Tao was invaded by Felsinia, and turned into a colonial state. During the 19th century, the Tao would undergo a short stint with Rhodevus, before Taoist peasants took advantage of a Rhodeve state; only to be colonized by Aznazia in the chaos. The UST divided into 20 states. Among its 20 Provinces, the most densely populated of which by far is Dajime, which is located on the west coastline; while the state of Ein is the seat of the capital of The United States of the Tao. Etymology "Tao" /dou,tou/ The exact origin and meaning behind the name "Tao" are still, not understood to this day. Many historians have attempted to find some evidence linking the name Tao to someone, an ideology, or a religion, however, none have found such evidence. Historians still debate, when the term "Tao" began being used as a common way of identification for the area. Though the oldest written reference to the area as "Tao" is in a sort of ancient POD census, dated approx 800 BC; most historians and archaeologists, believe that "Tao" was being used far before the days of the ancient census. History Prehistory Archaeologists believe that the first human settlers in the region arrived around 42,000 BC; though evidence shows that humans may only have arrived on Aoba island around 30,000 BC. The UST's vast supply of fish along with wild fruits and vegetables made the Taoist land attractive for permanent settlement. Evidence shows that tribes from this time relied on fishing and a surprising capability to make rudimentary rafts out of leaves and sticks. Later tribal civilizations would find the land to be quite fertile for their crops. In particular, archaeologists have found evidence that ancient Taoists smoked and otherwise consumed large quantities of cannabis, likely for recreational, religious, and medical use. By 2300 BC the first POD settlers moved into the region and inter-bred with the native Taoist population, creating what most consider to be the first modern Taoists. Ancient The earliest evidence of anything resembling centralized power-base for the "nation" as several small surrounding communities began paying tribute to the Izumodo (Roughly translates to Kingdom.) of Ein. The Izumodo of Ein would slowly expand, and absorb surrounding states, quickly becoming the most powerful state in the region. By 400 BC, the Izumodo of Ein had almost all of the Tao under its control, mostly as puppet states. Over the next 500 years or so, the Izumodo of Ein had absorbed, annexed, or subjugated all of the Tao peninsulae, spare a few northern tribal states. In the year 536, Izumo (Roughly translates to King) Jurou Shinobu had begun an ambitious undertaking; the invasion of the highly aggressive and hostile natives of Aoba Island. By the end of the campaign, Izumo Jurou Shinobu was on his deathbed, suffering from an infected arrow wound. Upon his hearing of the final Taoist victory in 548, it was his crowning achievement and announced the establishment of a new Izumodo, the "Grand Izumodo of the Tao". "Balanced" Era Shortly after the death of Izumo Jurou Shinobu, his son became Izumo Akihiko Shinobu in 551 and sought to expand the newly born nation's borders. This made him a particularly unpopular Izumo at the time. He ordered the easy and short-lived conquests of some northern tribes, which gave the Tao borders very similar to that of its modern-day borders; however this was short lived as Izumo Akihiko Shinobu was not content and ordered invasions into the eastern parts of Divergia, however, the Izumo underestimated the capabilities of the Divergian states, and the two would constantly have fluctuating borders for the next 220 years. After the wars with the Divergians came to a close, and relations between the two freshened; Newly crowned Izumo Ryuu Katsu had led a rebellion against the Shinobu regime in 802, which still encouraged war with the Divergians. Izumo Ryuu Katsu established a period of isolation and a sense of hostility towards almost all foreigners. With this philosophy put into law, things remained awfully quiet in the Tao for the next few centuries. "Emergence" Era In 1443 a large revolt took place all across the Tao, people called for either the end to the Isolationist Laws or the Head of the Izumo. Civil war shook the country and the people to their very core, as the country would see fighting amongst itself for nearly 80 years. It looked as though either side could win, and if the Izumo lost then the Tao would return to a multitude of city-states. In the year 1519, the fighting ended, as the Izumodo collapsed, and Izumo Yuu Katsu abdicated and was keelhauled. The Tao did, in fact, fracture into dozens of city-states as many predicted. In 1593 the Steltens first made contact with the native Taoists. Rare goods would go on to be traded with the local Taoists and the western Steltens; in some extremely rare instances, the newly discovered properties of rubber had been shared with the Steltens. In 1595 the Steltens opened a trading post in the city of Ein. A year later an unknown vessel from an unknown city-state denied a Stelten merchant ship right of passage through the Straits of Mikanan. In the year 1600, the Statelen East Indies Company decides to expand its colonial borders in Ophion. The Steltens decided that the Tao would be an ideal target as it was in a weakened and broken state. Several wars were declared upon dozens of Taoist city-states till those which the Steltens were not directly controlling had submitted to the Stelten East Indies Company. Modern Era As a colony of Aznazia until 1948, the Tao generally stuck with its colonial overlord during both of the World Wars, though there was a minor rioting issue towards the latter part of World War II while the Tao was being occupied by Divergia. After Aznazia underwent de-colonialism, and the Tao was an independent state in 1948; It was officially named the "United States of the Tao" and entered a period of Isolationism that wouldn't completely fade away until 2017. Geography The UST is a nation which is seated on a southeast peninsula in Ophion. It is made up, mainly of two landmasses; a major peninsula, also called the mainland; and a massive island called "Aoba Island". There are twenty states that make up the United States of the Tao, South Aoba, North Aoba, Ein, Fushu, Shimashina, Kachi, Hantau, Neshito, Dajime, Purobushi, Diketa, Burazosu, Miko, Watakotan, Kurisuti, Bordudo, Shintao, Firentsu, Nonsu, and Rurosaki. The northern portion of the country is a mountain range, mostly made up of small to medium size mountains. There are volcanoes located within the vast mountain range on the Divergian borders; one of which (Mount Kyojin), is a supervolcano with a Volcano Explosivity Index ranking of 7. There are roughly 2,368 islands under the UST flag, from massive ones like Aoba island to some just a dozen or so meters in length. There is one fairly large island between Ein and Aoba island, which is currently controlled by both Umbrellya, and Esotana. Most of the land in the UST is made up of dense forests, hills, and in some areas plains; though it should be noted that most of the interior of Aoba island is mountainous. The UST is known for its beautiful coastline and beaches. In some areas, crystalline structures leftover from the formation of the earth eroded over the eons; this creates some beaches with pure white sands. Climate The weather in the UST varies wildly, depending on where you are. Most of the population lives in hot, humid areas as almost 79% of the Taoist population lives in the coastal regions of the nation. In some coastal areas, like Shimanto, temperatures can reach 112°F and massive percentages of humidity. Of course, some of the larger mountains in both the Northern ranges and the Aoban ranges can reach below zero temperatures on a regular basis. There are few people who live in the mountains, as some ancient Taoist folklore told stories of horrifying monsters lurking within the mountains; however, there are various native Taoist and Divergian tribes who live secluded from modern society in the mountainous regions. The massive tourist city of Dajime is well known for its "Perfect climate" staying in the 50-70°F range; while in the summer, it hovers in the 70-80°F range. Environment The UST has a wide variety of flora and fauna, due to its diverse array of different biomes. There are dense Juniper and Cedar forests throughout the country, as they are the most plentiful trees in the nation. There are believed to be roughly 3,000 species of different plants, flowers, trees, and other flora and fauna scattered throughout the UST peninsula and archipelago. The modernization and industrialization process throughout the 1950s and 1960s left the countryside heavy polluted for decades; though as modern technologies are becoming more accepted, pollution levels have seen a steep decline. The production and use of some strategic resources, namely rubber, and oil, are still proving to be tough to lower pollution rates. The UST's 82 nuclear power plants provide relatively clean power to much of the country. The UST made nuclear power a priority for the infrastructure budget in 1989, after the University of Ein appealed to the House of Chancellors, and showed that the fastest way to switch to a clean source of power would be Nuclear, which we now know is cleaner than even Solar power. UST car companies, such as Hantau, or Yotota are some of the leading developers of hydrogen and nuclear-powered cars. Urbanization The United States of the Tao is host to a variety of both large and rapidly expanding cities. The Capital and largest city, Ein, is the third largest city in the world. Government The United States of the Tao is a chancellorial constitutional republic.